Morishige lifts 10-men Tokyo past Kawasaki

KAWASAKI – Defender Masato Morishige hit a late winner as 10-man FC Tokyo continued their bright start to life back in the J-League top flight with a 1-0 win away to Kawasaki Frontale on Sunday.

Coming off a 1-1 midweek draw at Beijing Guoan that maintained their unbeaten start in the Asian Champions League, Tokyo suffered a blow when Ariajasuru Hasegawa was sent off three minutes into the second half after two bookings in quick succession.

But the Emperor’s Cup holders dug in and were rewarded for their efforts when Morishige headed in Naohiro Ishikawa’s corner in the 87th minute.

Victory moved Tokyo onto 12 points from five games and into third place behind Vegalta Sendai (13) and Sanfrecce Hiroshima (12).

On Saturday, Sendai dropped their first points of the season after they were held 2-2 at home by Jubilo Iwata, while Sanfrecce thumped visiting Gamba Osaka 4-1 at Big Arch.